Ensuring important messages are viewed by intended recipient based on time-to-live pattern

ABSTRACT

A method, system and computer program product for ensuring that important messages are viewed by the intended recipient. A time-to-live pattern for a message identified as being important is determined for the target group, where the time-to-live pattern indicates a set of presentation criteria (e.g., impression analysis, such as the number of views of the message). The target group refers to the intended recipient(s) of the message identified as being important. The message is then monitored in the network environment with respect to the time-to-live pattern using the set of presentation criteria of the time-to-live pattern. An action (e.g., pinning the message for a period of time) may then be performed to increase the priority of the message for the target group if the time-to-live pattern has underachieved within a threshold period of time (i.e., has not met the requirements of the presentation criteria within the threshold period of time).

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to communications, and moreparticularly to ensuring that important messages are viewed by theintended recipient based on a time-to-live pattern established for theimportant message.

BACKGROUND

There are many different ways to share and process information amongusers, such as via e-mail and social media posts. For example, the usermay post a message on the user's social network profile space, such as awall, or on an activity stream (e.g., news feed, timeline). Such amechanism allows users to rapidly share information with others as wellas rapidly gather information from others. However, users may often beoverwhelmed by the volume of messages received in such mechanisms.

As a result of the large volume of messages being received, recipientsto these messages may miss viewing important messages. For example, auser may post a message on a social networking activity stream aboutcompliance (e.g., “Compliance is important, everyone should take thecompliance training http://training/compliance”). However, a recipientof the message, who is a member of the same online social network (e.g.,Twitter®) as the user, never sees the message as too many messages arebeing generated on the recipient's activity stream.

Unfortunately, there is not currently a means for ensuring thatimportant messages are viewed by the intended recipient.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment of the present invention, a method for ensuring thatimportant messages are viewed by the intended recipient comprisesidentifying a message as being important for a target group based onidentifying keywords, based on detecting a flagged attribute or based onreceiving a rating of importance from a user. The method furthercomprises determining a time-to-live pattern for the message for thetarget group, where the time-to-live pattern indicates a set ofpresentation criteria for utilization of the message in a networkenvironment. The method additionally comprises monitoring, in thenetwork environment, the message with respect to the time-to-livepattern using the set of presentation criteria. Furthermore, the methodcomprises performing an action to increase priority of the message forthe target group in response to detecting an underachievement of thetime-to-live pattern within a threshold period of time, where theunderachievement comprises not meeting requirements of the set ofpresentation criteria.

Other forms of the embodiment of the method described above are in asystem and in a computer program product.

The foregoing has outlined rather generally the features and technicaladvantages of one or more embodiments of the present invention in orderthat the detailed description of the present invention that follows maybe better understood. Additional features and advantages of the presentinvention will be described hereinafter which may form the subject ofthe claims of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A better understanding of the present invention can be obtained when thefollowing detailed description is considered in conjunction with thefollowing drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of the present invention of acommunication system configured in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of the present invention of a hardwareconfiguration of a computing device which is representative of ahardware environment for practicing the present invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of the present invention of a hardwareconfiguration of a message analyzer configured in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method for ensuring that important messagesare viewed by the intended recipient(s) in accordance with an embodimentof the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention comprises a method, system and computer programproduct for ensuring that important messages are viewed by the intendedrecipient. In one embodiment of the present invention, a message (e.g.,e-mail message, instant message, text message, social media post) isidentified as being important, such as by using natural languageprocessing, detecting a flagged attribute or receiving an importancerating from the user. A time-to-live pattern for the message isdetermined for a target group, where the time-to-live pattern indicatesa set of presentation criteria for utilization of the message in anetwork environment. The “time-to-live pattern,” as used herein,includes a set of presentation criteria, such as the relationshipdetails (e.g., relationship between the author/sender and the recipient,the hierarchical relationship or the frequency of connection between theauthor/sender and the recipient), the behaviors of the message (e.g.,message is commented, replied, forwarded, reshared, liked, recommended,etc.), impression analysis (e.g., the amount of time spent on viewingthe message, such as 2 seconds, the number of views of the message) andfrequency of action (e.g., how often, such as every 30 minutes, toperform an action to increase the priority of the message for the targetgroup if needed). The “target group,” as used herein, refers to theintended recipient(s) of the message identified as being important. Thetarget group may include a social network (the entire social network ora personal social network), a person, co-workers (e.g., managers,employees) or followers of a tag, a hashtag or a mention. The message isthen monitored in the network environment with respect to thetime-to-live pattern using the set of presentation criteria (e.g.,number of views) of the time-to-live pattern. An action may then beperformed to increase the priority of the message for the target groupif the time-to-live pattern has underachieved within a threshold periodof time. “Underachieved,” as used herein, refers to not meeting therequirements of the presentation criteria. For example, if thetime-to-live pattern for a message consisted of two views within athreshold period of time (ten minutes) and only one view has occurred,then the time-to-live pattern is said to have “underachieved.” Actionsthat may be performed include performing a synthetic social action, suchas requesting the author to like the message after posting the messageon a social network. In another example, the action may include pinningthe message for a period of time to increase the priority of themessage. In a further example, the action may include mentioning themessage to drive additional conversation. By performing an action toincrease the priority of the important message for the target group, theimportant message is more likely to be viewed by the intendedrecipient(s). Important messages may now be less likely to be missed bythe intended recipient(s) by ensuring that important messages meet thepresentation criteria of the time-to-live pattern for the importantmessage.

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth toprovide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, itwill be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present inventionmay be practiced without such specific details. In other instances,well-known circuits have been shown in block diagram form in order notto obscure the present invention in unnecessary detail. For the mostpart, details considering timing considerations and the like have beenomitted inasmuch as such details are not necessary to obtain a completeunderstanding of the present invention and are within the skills ofpersons of ordinary skill in the relevant art.

Referring now to the Figures in detail, FIG. 1 illustrates an embodimentof the present invention of a communication system 100 for practicingthe principles of the present invention in accordance with an embodimentof the present invention. Communication system 100 includes computingdevices 101A-101C (identified as “Computing Device A,” “Computing DeviceB,” and “Computing Device C,” respectively, in FIG. 1) connected to aserver 102 via a network 103. Computing devices 101A-101C maycollectively or individually be referred to as computing devices 101 orcomputing device 101, respectively. It is noted that both computingdevices 101 and the users of computing devices 101 may be identifiedwith element number 101.

Computing device 101 may be any type of computing device (e.g., portablecomputing unit, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), smartphone, laptopcomputer, mobile phone, navigation device, game console, desktopcomputer system, workstation, Internet appliance and the like)configured with the capability of connecting to network 103 andconsequently communicating with other computing devices 101 and server102. A description of the hardware configuration of computing device 101is provided below in connection with FIG. 2.

Computing devices 101 may be configured to send and receive text-basedmessages in real-time during an instant messaging session. Any user ofcomputing device 101 may be the creator or initiator of an instantmessage (message in instant messaging) and any user of computing device101 may be a recipient of an instant message. Furthermore, any user ofcomputing device 101 may be able to create, receive and send e-mails.Additionally, any user of computing device 101 may be able to send andreceive text messages, such as Short Message Services (SMS) messages. Inaddition, any user of computing device 101 (e.g., mobile phone) may becapable of initiating or receiving a telephone call over network 103(e.g., circuit-switched telephone network, Wi-Fi network, an IEEE 802.11standards network).

Network 103 may be, for example, a local area network, a wide areanetwork, a wireless wide area network, a circuit-switched telephonenetwork, a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) network,Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) network, a WiFi network, an IEEE802.11 standards network, various combinations thereof, etc. Othernetworks, whose descriptions are omitted here for brevity, may also beused in conjunction with system 100 of FIG. 1 without departing from thescope of the present invention.

In communication system 100, computing devices 101A-101C may include asoftware agent, referred to herein as the Instant Messaging (IM) client104A-104C, respectively. Instant messaging clients 104A-104C maycollectively or individually be referred to as instant messaging clients104 or instant messaging client 104, respectively. Furthermore, server102 may include a software agent, referred to herein as the InstantMessaging (IM) server 105. IM client 104 provides the functionality tosend and receive instant messages. As messages are received, IM client104 presents the messages to the user in a dialog window (or IM window).Furthermore, IM client 104 provides the functionality for computingdevice 101 to connect to the IM server 105 which provides thefunctionality of distributing the instant messages to the IM clients 104associated with each of the sharing users.

Computing device 101A-101C may further include a software agent,referred to herein as the e-mail client agent 106A-106C, respectively.E-mail client agents 106A-106C may collectively or individually bereferred to as e-mail client agents 106 or e-mail client agent 106,respectively. Furthermore, server 102 may include a software agent,referred to herein as the e-mail server agent 107. E-mail client agent106 enables the user of computing device 101 to create, send and receivee-mails. E-mail server agent 107 is configured to receive e-mailmessages from computing device 101 and distribute the received e-mailmessages among the one or more computing devices 101.

While the preceding discusses each computing device 101 as including anIM client 104 and an e-mail client agent 106, each computing device 101may not necessarily include each of these software agents. Furthermore,while the preceding discusses a single server 102 including the softwareagents, such as IM server 105 and e-mail server agent 107, multipleservers may be used to implement these services. Furthermore, eachserver 102 may not necessarily be configured to include all of thesesoftware agents, but only a subset of these software agents.

System 100 further includes a Short Message Service (SMC) center 108configured to relay, store and forward text messages, such as SMSmessages, among computing devices 101 through network 103.

System 100 further includes a social network server 109, which may be aweb server configured to offer a social networking and/or microbloggingservice, enabling users of computing devices 101 to send and read otherusers' posts. “Posts,” as used herein, include any one or more of thefollowing: text (e.g., comments, sub-comments and replies), audio, videoimages, etc. Social network server 109 is connected to network 103 bywire or wirelessly. While FIG. 1 illustrates a single social networkserver 109, it is noted for clarity that multiple servers may be used toimplement the social networking and/or microblogging service.

System 100 further includes a unit, referred to herein as the “messageanalyzer 110,” connected to network 103 via wire or wirelessly. Messageanalyzer 110 is configured to ensure that important messages are viewedby the intended recipient(s) based on what is referred to herein as the“time-to-live pattern.” The “time-to-live pattern,” as used herein,includes a set of presentation criteria, such as the relationshipdetails (e.g., relationship between the author/sender and the recipient,the hierarchical relationship or the frequency of connection between theauthor/sender and the recipient), the behaviors of the message (e.g.,message is commented, replied, forwarded, reshared, liked, recommended,etc.), impression analysis (e.g., the amount of time spent on viewingthe message, such as 2 seconds, the number of views of the message) andfrequency of action (e.g., how often, such as every 30 minutes, toperform an action to increase the priority of the message for the targetgroup if needed). If the presentation criteria of the time-to-livepattern is underachieving within a threshold amount of time, thenmessage analyzer 110 is configured to perform an action, such asperforming a synthetic social action (e.g., instructing the author tolike the message after creating the message), pinning the message for aperiod of time or mentioning the message (e.g., mentioning the messageto drive additional conversation, adding comments to the initial socialpost), in order to further promote the important message so as to ensurethat the message is viewed by the intended recipient as discussed ingreater detail further below. A description of the hardwareconfiguration of message analyzer 110 is provided below in connectionwith FIG. 3.

System 100 is not to be limited in scope to any one particular networkarchitecture. System 100 may include any number of computing devices101, servers 102, networks 103, SMS centers 108, social network servers109 and message analyzers 110.

Referring now to FIG. 2, FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of the presentinvention of a hardware configuration of computing device 101 (FIG. 1)which is representative of a hardware environment for practicing thepresent invention. Referring to FIG. 2, computing device 101 has aprocessor 201 coupled to various other components by system bus 202. Anoperating system 203 runs on processor 201 and provides control andcoordinates the functions of the various components of FIG. 2. Anapplication 204 in accordance with the principles of the presentinvention runs in conjunction with operating system 203 and providescalls to operating system 203 where the calls implement the variousfunctions or services to be performed by application 204. Application204 may include, for example, a web browser that allows a user toindicate to message analyzer 110 (FIG. 1) a set of presentation criteriafor the time-to-live pattern.

Referring again to FIG. 2, read-only memory (“ROM”) 205 is coupled tosystem bus 202 and includes a basic input/output system (“BIOS”) thatcontrols certain basic functions of computing device 101. Random accessmemory (“RAM”) 206 and disk adapter 207 are also coupled to system bus202. It should be noted that software components including operatingsystem 203 and application 204 may be loaded into RAM 206, which may becomputing device's 101 main memory for execution. Disk adapter 207 maybe an integrated drive electronics (“IDE”) adapter that communicateswith a disk unit 208, e.g., disk drive.

Computing device 101 may further include a communications adapter 209coupled to bus 202. Communications adapter 209 interconnects bus 202with an outside network (e.g., network 103 of FIG. 1) thereby enablingcomputing device 101 to communicate with other devices (e.g., messageanalyzer 110).

I/O devices may also be connected to computing device 101 via a userinterface adapter 210 and a display adapter 211. Keyboard 212, mouse 213and speaker 214 may all be interconnected to bus 202 through userinterface adapter 210. A display monitor 215 may be connected to systembus 202 by display adapter 211. In this manner, a user is capable ofinputting to computing device 101 through keyboard 212 or mouse 213 andreceiving output from computing device 101 via display 215 or speaker214. Other input mechanisms may be used to input data to computingdevice 101 that are not shown in FIG. 2, such as display 215 havingtouch-screen capability and keyboard 212 being a virtual keyboard.Computing device 101 of FIG. 2 is not to be limited in scope to theelements depicted in FIG. 2 and may include fewer or additional elementsthan depicted in FIG. 2.

Referring now to FIG. 3, FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of the presentinvention of a hardware configuration of message analyzer 110 (FIG. 1)which is representative of a hardware environment for practicing thepresent invention. Referring to FIG. 3, message analyzer 110 has aprocessor 301 coupled to various other components by system bus 302. Anoperating system 303 runs on processor 301 and provides control andcoordinates the functions of the various components of FIG. 3. Anapplication 304 in accordance with the principles of the presentinvention runs in conjunction with operating system 303 and providescalls to operating system 303 where the calls implement the variousfunctions or services to be performed by application 304. Application304 may include, for example, a program for ensuring that importantmessages are viewed by the intended recipient(s) as discussed furtherbelow in connection with FIG. 4.

Referring again to FIG. 3, read-only memory (“ROM”) 305 is coupled tosystem bus 302 and includes a basic input/output system (“BIOS”) thatcontrols certain basic functions of message analyzer 110. Random accessmemory (“RAM”) 306 and disk adapter 307 are also coupled to system bus302. It should be noted that software components including operatingsystem 303 and application 304 may be loaded into RAM 306, which may bemessage analyzer's 110 main memory for execution. Disk adapter 307 maybe an integrated drive electronics (“IDE”) adapter that communicateswith a disk unit 308, e.g., disk drive. It is noted that the program forensuring that important messages are viewed by the intendedrecipient(s), as discussed further below in connection with FIG. 4, mayreside in disk unit 308 or in application 304.

Communications analyzer 110 may further include a communications adapter309 coupled to bus 302. Communications adapter 309 interconnects bus 302with an outside network (e.g., network 103 of FIG. 1) thereby allowingcommunications analyzer 110 to communicate with other devices, such ascomputing devices 101, servers 102, SMS centers 108 and social networkservers 109.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product. The computer program product may include a computerreadable storage medium (or media) having computer readable programinstructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of thepresent invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, andconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The computerreadable program instructions may execute entirely on the user'scomputer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone softwarepackage, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computeror entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario,the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through anytype of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example,programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), orprogrammable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readableprogram instructions by utilizing state information of the computerreadable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry,in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

As stated in the Background section, there are many different ways toshare and process information among users, such as via e-mail and socialmedia posts. For example, the user may post a message on the user'ssocial network profile space, such as a wall, or on an activity stream(e.g., news feed, timeline). Such a mechanism allows users to rapidlyshare information with others as well as rapidly gather information fromothers. However, users may often be overwhelmed by the volume ofmessages received in such mechanisms. As a result of the large volume ofmessages being received, recipients to these messages may miss viewingimportant messages. For example, a user may post a message on a socialnetworking activity stream about compliance (e.g., “Compliance isimportant, everyone should take the compliance traininghttp://training/compliance”). However, a recipient of the message, whois a member of the same online social network (e.g., Twitter®) as theuser, never sees the message as too many messages are being generated onthe recipient's activity stream. Unfortunately, there is not currently ameans for ensuring that important messages are viewed by the intendedrecipient.

The principles of the present invention provide a means for ensuringthat important messages are viewed by the intended recipient(s) asdiscussed below in connection with FIG. 4.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method 400 for ensuring that importantmessages are viewed by the intended recipient(s) in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, in conjunction with FIGS. 1-3, in step 401, messageanalyzer 110 identifies a message (e.g., e-mail message, instantmessage, text message, social media post) as being important for atarget group (e.g., a social network, a person, co-workers, followers ofa tag, a hashtag or a mention). A message may be identified as beingimportant by message analyzer 110 using natural language processing. Forexample, message analyzer 110 may identify keywords (e.g., “important,”“serious,” “immediate attention”), such as in the body of the text ofthe message or in the subject line of the message, that would indicate amessage of importance. For instance, in the social media post of“Compliance is important, everyone should take the compliance traininghttp://training/compliance,” the term of “important” in the post mayindicate that the message has high importance and that message analyzer110 should ensure that the intended recipient(s) should view such amessage.

Message analyzer 110 may also identify a message as being importantbased on detecting a flagged attribute, such as the attribute ofimportance of the message being set to the logical value of one.

Furthermore, message analyzer 110 may identify a message as beingimportant based on receiving a rating of importance from user 101 viathe user interface of computing device 101. For example, user 101 mayselect the level of importance of an e-mail message as being important,such as via a slider.

In one embodiment, message analyzer 110 analyzes the message forimportance while it is created or reviewed by the author/sender or afterit has been published or sent. The term “message,” as used herein, mayinclude an electronic mail message, an instant message, a text message,a social media post or any other electronic form of communication.

The “target group,” as used herein, refers to the intended recipient(s)of the message identified as being important in step 401. In oneembodiment, the target group is designated by user 101, such as by therecipient(s) indicated by the user 101 to receive the message. Inanother embodiment, the target group may be deduced by message analyzer110 based on the context in which the message is sent. For example, ifthe message is posted on the user's social network profile, then it maybe deduced that the message is to be received by the user's friends inthe user's social network, where a listing of the user's friends (andtheir contact information) can be obtained from the user's profile.

In one embodiment, the target group may include a social network (theentire social network or a personal social network), a person,co-workers (e.g., managers, employees) or followers of a tag, a hashtagor a mention.

In step 402, message analyzer 110 determines a time-to-live pattern forthe message for the target group, where the time-to-live patternindicates a set of presentation criteria for utilization of the messagein a network environment, such as the network environment shown inFIG. 1. As discussed above, the “time-to-live pattern,” as used herein,includes a set of presentation criteria, such as the relationshipdetails (e.g., relationship between the author/sender and the recipient,the hierarchical relationship or the frequency of connection between theauthor/sender and the recipient), the behaviors of the message (e.g.,message is commented, replied, forwarded, reshared, liked, recommended,etc.), impression analysis (e.g., the amount of time spent on viewingthe message, such as 2 seconds, the number of views of the message) andfrequency of action (e.g., how often, such as every 30 minutes, toperform an action to increase the priority of the message for the targetgroup if needed).

In one embodiment, the presentation criteria is based, at least in part,on the number of recipients of the target group. For example, thegreater the number of recipients of the target group, the larger thenumber of impressions, such as the number of views, that may be requiredin the time-to-live pattern.

In one embodiment, all or a portion of the presentation criteria to beused in the time-to-live pattern is determined by message analyzer 110,such as by using natural language processing (e.g., analyzing messagesto determine relationship details). In one embodiment, all or a portionof the presentation criteria to be used in the time-to-live pattern isprovided to message analyzer 110 by user 101, such as via a userinterface of computing device 101.

Examples of the presentation criteria of the time-to-live pattern arediscussed below.

For instance, the presentation criteria of the time-to-live pattern mayutilize impression analysis. For example, in the scenario where animportant message is being sent to a brother, the time-to-live patternof the message may include 2 views (impression analysis) to ensure thatthe brother has viewed the message.

In another example, the presentation criteria of the time-to-livepattern may include relationship details, such as familialrelationships. For example, message analyzer 110 may deduce the reasonsas to why the message is important using natural language processing,such as focusing on keywords or phrases, such as “son injured.” As aresult, such a message may be important for relatives, such as theuser's spouse and children, to view since it involves an injury to afamily member. Consequently, message analyzer 110 may designate familialrelationships in the time-to-live pattern, where the relatives can bedetermined based on the user's profile in a social media context (e.g.,family list).

In a further example, the presentation criteria of the time-to-livepattern may include behaviors of the message, such as the commenting,replaying, forwarding, resharing and recommending of the message. Forinstance, the presentation criteria of the time-to-live pattern maydesignate a particular number of recommendations of the message, such asbased on user input or the interpretation of the message by messageanalyzer 110. As an example, message analyzer 110 may utilize naturallanguage processing to determine that the message needs to be forwardedto relatives based on the text of the message. For instance, the messagemay discuss an upcoming wedding that needs to be shared with relatives.As an example, the text of the message may state “The wedding will beoccurring on Dec. 2, 2016. Please let our relatives know about thisdate.” As a result of identifying keywords/phrases, such as “wedding,”“relatives,” and “know about this date,” using natural languageprocessing, message analyzer 110 may determine that the message needs tobe forwarded to the relatives of user 101, where the relatives can bedetermined based on the user's profile in a social media context (e.g.,family list, friends indicated as being relatives).

In step 403, message analyzer 110 monitors, in the network environment,such as shown in FIG. 1, the message with respect to the time-to-livepattern using the set of presentation criteria of the time-to-livepattern. For example, if the set of presentation criteria of thetime-to-live pattern includes a number of views, then message analyzer110 monitors the message with respect to those parameters (e.g.,determine number of views).

In step 404, a determination is made by message analyzer 110 as towhether it detects the message being viewed by a recipient of the targetgroup.

If message analyzer 110 detects the message being viewed by a recipientof the target group, then, in step 405, message analyzer 110 adjusts theset of presentation criteria for the time-to-live pattern of the messagefor the target group in response to the recipient of the target groupviewing the message. For example, if the time-to-live pattern of themessage includes two views and a recipient of the target group viewedthe message, then the number of views is decremented by one so thattime-to-live pattern of the message indicates one view. In this manner,the time-to-live pattern may indicate the number of views left to beaccomplished prior to reaching the threshold period of time discussedbelow.

Upon adjusting the set of presentation criteria for the time-to-livepattern of the message for the target group or if message analyzer 110does not detect the message being viewed by a recipient of the targetgroup, then message analyzer 101 determines whether the threshold periodof time has been reached in step 406.

The “threshold period of time,” as used herein, refers to the amount oftime to accomplish the requirements of the presentation criteria of thetime-to-live pattern. In one embodiment, the threshold period of time isdetermined by message analyzer 110 based on the level of importanceestablished by message analyzer 110. For example, message analyzer 110may establish that the message is extremely important based on the usageof the terms “important” and “serious” using natural languageprocessing. The higher the level of importance, the longer the durationof time the time-to-live pattern exists for accomplishing thepresentation criteria.

In another embodiment, the threshold period of time is user-selected.

If the threshold period of time has not been reached, then messageanalyzer 110 continues to monitor, in the network environment, themessage with respect to the time-to-live pattern using the set ofpresentation criteria of the time-to-live pattern in step 403.

If, however, the threshold period of time has been reached, then, instep 407, message analyzer 110 determines as to whether the time-to-livepattern has underachieved within a threshold period of time.

For example, if the time-to-live pattern for a message consisted of twoviews within the threshold period of time (ten minutes) and only oneview has occurred, then the time-to-live pattern is said to have“underachieved.” “Underachieved,” as used herein, refers to not meetingthe requirements of the presentation criteria.

In another example, if the time-to-live pattern for a message consistedof the amount of time that is to be spent on viewing the message (10seconds) and only 6 seconds have been spent on viewing the message bythe target group, then the time-to-live pattern is said to have“underachieved.”

It is noted that the time-to-live pattern may consist of variouscriteria that may each need to be met within the threshold period oftime. In another embodiment, the time-to-live pattern may includevarious presentation criteria (e.g., time spent viewing message, numberof views) that allows the time-to-live pattern to achieve its goal basedon satisfying any of the presentation criteria. For example, thepresentation criteria may include the criteria of spending 10 seconds onviewing the message and three views. If either of these presentationcriteria has been accomplished within the threshold period of time, thenthe time-to-live pattern may be said to have accomplished its goal.

If the time-to-live pattern has not underachieved (i.e., has achievedits goal) within the threshold period of time, then, in step 408,message analyzer 110 removes the message from the message list of thoserecipient(s) of the target group.

If, however, the time-to-live pattern has underachieved within thethreshold period of time, then, in step 409, message analyzer 110performs an action to increase the priority of the message for thetarget group. For example, message analyzer 110 may perform a syntheticsocial action, such as requesting user 101 (author) to like the messageafter posting the message on a social network. Alternatively, messageanalyzer 110 may itself like the message after the message has beenposted on the social network. In another example, message analyzer 110may pin the message for a period of time to increase the priority of themessage. In a further example, message analyzer 110 may mention themessage to drive additional conversation, such as “@Alice what do youthink?”

By performing an action to increase the priority of the importantmessage for the target group, the important message is more likely to beviewed by the intended recipient(s). Important messages may now be lesslikely to be missed by the intended recipient(s) by ensuring thatimportant messages meet the presentation criteria of the time-to-livepattern for the important message. Improving the likelihood thatimportant messages will be viewed in such a manner is a non-conventionalway. By using computing technology to ensure that important messagesmeet the presentation criteria of the time-to-live pattern, importantmessages will be less likely to be missed by the intended recipient(s).

After performing an action to increase the priority of the message forthe target group, a determination is made by message analyzer 110 as towhether the time-to-live pattern has underachieved within a thresholdperiod of time in step 407. In one embodiment, such a determination ismade after a period of time has elapsed, such as the frequency of actionindicated in the time-to-live pattern.

In one embodiment, the time-to-live pattern may utilize a learning modelto optimize the presentation of the messages based on how successfuldifferent actions were in causing messages to meet the presentationcriteria of the time-to-live pattern. As a result, as time progresses,message analyzer 110 will perform more appropriate actions to cause theimportant message to meet particular presentation criteria of thetime-to-live pattern.

The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present inventionhave been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intendedto be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the describedembodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain theprinciples of the embodiments, the practical application or technicalimprovement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodimentsdisclosed herein.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A computer program product for ensuringthat important messages are viewed by the intended recipient, thecomputer program product comprising a computer readable storage mediumhaving program code embodied therewith, the program code comprising theprogramming instructions for: identifying a message as being importantfor a target group based on identifying keywords, based on detecting aflagged attribute or based on receiving a rating of importance from auser; determining a time-to-live pattern for said message for saidtarget group, wherein said time-to-live pattern indicates a set ofpresentation criteria for utilization of said message in a networkenvironment; monitoring, in said network environment, said message withrespect to said time-to-live pattern using said set of presentationcriteria; detecting said message being viewed by a recipient of saidtarget group; adjusting said set of presentation criteria for saidtime-to-live pattern for said message for said target group in responseto said recipient of said target group viewing said message; determiningif said adjusted time-to-live pattern has underachieved within athreshold period of time, wherein said threshold period of time is anamount of time to accomplish requirements of said set of presentationcriteria; and performing an action to increase priority of said messagefor said target group in response to detecting an underachievement ofsaid time-to-live pattern within said threshold period of time, whereinsaid underachievement comprises not meeting said requirements of saidset of presentation criteria.
 2. The computer program product as recitedin claim 1, wherein said message is identified as being important whilesaid message is being created or reviewed by an author of said message.3. The computer program product as recited in claim 1, wherein saidtarget group corresponds to one or more intended recipients of saidmessage identified as being important, wherein said target group isdeduced based on context in which said message is sent.
 4. The computerprogram product as recited in claim 1, wherein said set of presentationcriteria comprises relationship details, behaviors of said message andimpression analysis, wherein said set of presentation criteria is basedon a number of recipients of said target group.
 5. The computer programproduct as recited in claim 4, wherein said relationship detailscomprise one or more of the following: a relationship between an authorof said message and a recipient, a hierarchical relationship and afrequency of connection between an author of said message and arecipient, wherein said behaviors of said message comprise one or moreof the following: said message is commented, replied, forwarded,reshared, liked and recommended, wherein said impression analysiscomprises one or more of the following: an amount of time spent viewingsaid message, and a number of views of said message.
 6. The computerprogram product as recited in claim 1, wherein said rating of importanceis received from said user via a slider.
 7. The computer program productas recited in claim 1, wherein said adjusted time-to-live pattern hasnot underachieved within said threshold period of time in response toaccomplishing each presentation criteria of said set of presentationcriteria.
 8. The computer program product as recited in claim 1, whereinsaid adjusted time-to-live pattern has not underachieved within saidthreshold period of time in response to accomplishing one or morepresentation criteria of said set of presentation criteria.
 9. Thecomputer program product as recited in claim 1, wherein said priority ofsaid message is increased by performing said action selected from thegroup consisting of: performing a synthetic social action, pinning saidmessage and mentioning said message.
 10. The computer program product asrecited in claim 1, wherein said target group is selected from the groupconsisting of: a social network, a person, co-workers and followers of atag, a hashtag or a mention.
 11. A system, comprising: a memory forstoring a computer program for ensuring that important messages areviewed by the intended recipient; and a processor connected to saidmemory, wherein said processor is configured to execute the programinstructions of the computer program comprising: identifying a messageas being important for a target group based on identifying keywords,based on detecting a flagged attribute or based on receiving a rating ofimportance from a user; determining a time-to-live pattern for saidmessage for said target group, wherein said time-to-live patternindicates a set of presentation criteria for utilization of said messagein a network environment; monitoring, in said network environment, saidmessage with respect to said time-to-live pattern using said set ofpresentation criteria; and detecting said message being viewed by arecipient of said target group; adjusting said set of presentationcriteria for said time-to-live pattern for said message for said targetgroup in response to said recipient of said target group viewing saidmessage; determining if said adjusted time-to-live pattern hasunderachieved within a threshold period of time, wherein said thresholdperiod of time is an amount of time to accomplish requirements of saidset of presentation criteria; and performing an action to increasepriority of said message for said target group in response to detectingan underachievement of said time-to-live pattern within said thresholdperiod of time, wherein said underachievement comprises not meeting saidrequirements of said set of presentation criteria.
 12. The system asrecited in claim 11, wherein said message is identified as beingimportant while said message is being created or reviewed by an authorof said message.
 13. The system as recited in claim 11, wherein saidtarget group corresponds to one or more intended recipients of saidmessage identified as being important, wherein said target group isdeduced based on context in which said message is sent.
 14. The systemas recited in claim 11, wherein said set of presentation criteriacomprises relationship details, behaviors of said message and impressionanalysis, wherein said set of presentation criteria is based on a numberof recipients of said target group.
 15. The system as recited in claim14, wherein said relationship details comprise one or more of thefollowing: a relationship between an author of said message and arecipient, a hierarchical relationship and a frequency of connectionbetween an author of said message and a recipient, wherein saidbehaviors of said message comprise one or more of the following: saidmessage is commented, replied, forwarded, reshared, liked andrecommended, wherein said impression analysis comprises one or more ofthe following: an amount of time spent viewing said message, and anumber of views of said message.
 16. The system as recited in claim 11,wherein said rating of importance is received from said user via aslider.
 17. The system as recited in claim 11, wherein said adjustedtime-to-live pattern has not underachieved within said threshold periodof time in response to accomplishing each presentation criteria of saidset of presentation criteria.
 18. The system as recited in claim 11,wherein said adjusted time-to-live pattern has not underachieved withinsaid threshold period of time in response to accomplishing one or morepresentation criteria of said set of presentation criteria.
 19. Thesystem as recited in claim 11, wherein said priority of said message isincreased by performing said action selected from the group consistingof: performing a synthetic social action, pinning said message andmentioning said message.
 20. The system as recited in claim 11, whereinsaid target group is selected from the group consisting of: a socialnetwork, a person, co-workers and followers of a tag, a hashtag or amention.